Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 8 September 2026 to Question 21040 on Tobacco Tax Gap: Wastewater Analysis, if he will pause increases in tobacco duties until HMRC has completed its wastewater analysis research into the tobacco tax gap.

At Budget 2024, the Government renewed the commitment to a tobacco duty escalator, which increases duty by 2 per cent above RPI inflation at each Budget, until the end of the current Parliament.

The duty escalator increase was implemented together with a further one-off increase of £2.20 per 100 cigarettes and per 50g of other tobacco products on 1 October 2026, alongside the introduction of Vaping Products Duty. The one-off increase maintains the financial incentive to switch from tobacco to vaping for existing smokers.

The Chancellor makes decisions on tax policy at fiscal events.